Feb. 25—WINNER, S.D. — With only seven singlets packed for Sioux Falls, the math says the odds are stacked against them.

But the belief inside the Winner High School boys wrestling room says otherwise.

When the lights come on Feb. 26-28 at the Premier Center, the Warriors won't have the numbers most Class B team title contenders bring to the state tournament. What they will have is seven battle-tested grapplers, five No. 1 seeds, two seniors chasing one last ride, and a group that is anything but ordinary.

Depth wins team wrestling championships in late-February. But sometimes, belief sharpened in a small-town wrestling room can be just as dangerous.

"They just feed off each other, you know, iron sharpens iron," Winner head coach Spencer Novotny said. "Those guys drill with each other every day and that's kind of the product of it. It's mainly just their work ethic because if I tell them to do something, they do it one more time than they have to and that's the way all of them are."

After hosting and competing in the Region 3B tournament on Feb. 21, the Warriors punched seven tickets to state. Five of those seven claimed individual region titles and enter the Class B bracket as No. 1 seeds in their respective weight class. As a unit, the seven qualifiers boast a staggering combined record of 274-26 this season.

But numbers tell only part of their story.

With just seven wrestlers in the field, Winner faces an uphill climb in the team standings race. Depth often determines who hoists the team plaque at the end of the three-day tournament. For the Warriors to seriously contend for the team title, they will likely need near-perfect performances across all seven weight classes with individual first-place finishes.

"We knew to compete with the team race here in the regional meet, we would probably have to get nine or 10 kids through to state," said Novotny following the Region 3B meet in Winner. "We had seven seeded in the top four, which is good, but to have a better team score you need more than that. So, we're going to need all of our guys that qualified to do really well in the state meet to get the team result we are striving for."

And leading the charge is 106-pound freshman Apollo Willuweit, the Region 3B champion who carries a flawless 47-0 record into state. As the No. 1 seed at 106, Willuweit has dominated all season and will look to cap an unbeaten freshman campaign with a second consecutive state championship.

At 113 pounds, senior Judd Hansen enters as the Region 3B runner-up. Hansen owns a 33-7 record and is seeded fourth in Class B. In his final trip to state as a senior, Hansen will rely on experience and grit to climb the podium and add valuable team points.

The middleweights may be where the Warriors make their strongest push. Sophomore Rylan Robbins (40-2) claimed the Region 3B title at 120 pounds and holds the No. 1 seed. At 126, freshman Roukyn Robbins (46-2) mirrored that feat, capturing a regional championship and the top seed in his bracket.

Senior Ryken Orel has been a cornerstone all season at 150 pounds. With a 38-2 record and a Region 3B title, Orel also enters as the No. 1 seed in Class B.

"I just know that the guys that we qualified, they are grinders every single week," Orel said. "They are the ones in there every day at practice, giving all that they can. The seven that we got that qualified, they can all do big things for us."

At 215 pounds, junior Mason Curtis finished as the Region 3B runner-up and enters the state meet as the No. 2 seed with a 26-8 record. Curtis will face a challenging bracket with No. 1-seeded and unbeaten Gannon Knebel of Wagner, who beat him in the region title match, but has positioned himself as a legitimate contender for a deep run and a potential rematch in the championship bout.

Rounding out the lineup is sophomore Legend Benedict. The 285-pound Region 3B champion owns a 44-5 record and the No. 1 seed at heavyweight.

Still, belief runs deep inside the Winner wrestling room.

"This year, I would say all seven of our guys are heavy hitters," Orel said. "In my eyes, all seven guys can make it into the state finals and have a chance to win it. We have a special group and I am really going to miss these guys when it's over."

For Orel, the motivation is personal heading into the final meet of his prep career.

"I just want to leave a legacy that people will remember because of all of the hard work I put in to get to where I am," Orel said. "We have a banner in the wrestling room with all the (individual) state champs, and I want my name on there. My brother and three of my uncles are on there, and I just want to put myself on there, too."

And while the math may not favor a seven-man roster, the Warriors are ready to embrace the challenge with a team title in their sights.

"We talk about it all the time at practice, if everyone achieves their own individual goals then our team will have success," Novotny said. "I just hope everyone wrestles individually well, and then the team points will take care of themselves. It's going to be tough for us to try and get on top of that team podium, simply because we're only taking seven kids to state. But I would not bet against these seven guys."